PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea is demanding the withdrawal of U.N. sanctions and the end of U.S.-South Korea military drills as conditions for resuming talks about its nuclear program.

Today's statement from the Policy Department of the National Defense Commission, the country's top governing body, comes four days after Pyongyang rejected South Korea's latest dialogue offer as insincere.

The U.S. says it's prepared to talk to the North but Pyongyang must first bring down tensions and honor previous disarmament agreements.